The present invention relates to a packaging system for medical consumables, in particular test elements which are accommodated in a magazine that can be removed from an outer packaging.
DE 19819407A1 relates to a test strip container for measurement appliances that work with disposable test strips. These disposable test strips are generally delivered to a sensor for measurement purposes. The container in which the disposable strips are accommodated comprises two parts, the test strips being stored in the first part, and the used test strips being collected in the second part.
Medical consumables accommodated in a magazine, for example test elements used in measurement appliances for blood sugar measurement, for lactate measurement or for cholesterol determination, are packed in an outer packaging in order to protect the medical consumables from environmental influences. Test elements for medical purposes are particularly sensitive to environmental fluctuations and in particular to moisture. For this reason, magazines in which a number of test elements are stored are placed into a sealed outer package in order to avoid entry of moisture into the outer package and, consequently, to avoid the magazine and test elements accommodated in the outer package becoming damaged by penetration of moisture.
The outer package, which is substantially impervious to water vapor and is accommodated in a sales pack for sales purposes, contains a desiccant supply. The magazine in which the test elements are accommodated also contains a desiccant supply. The desiccant supply located in the magazine with the test elements ensures that the test elements contained in the magazine are protected against exposure to water vapor in the time interval between production of the test elements and their end use. In this way it is possible to ensure that the stability of the test elements is independent of the storage period since, during this interval, the desiccant supply inside the magazine accommodating the test elements takes up diffusing water vapor and keeps it away from the test elements contained in the magazine.
If the magazine is in the form of a cartridge, for example, and contains reels for individual test elements received on a transport band, a quantity of desiccant is generally introduced into the part containing the unused test elements that are typically supplied in the form of a wound-up reel. After being fitted with the transport band on which the individual test elements are received, the cartridge is sealed and inserted into an outer package, for example, in the form of an aluminium pouch, together with a desiccant. The outer package is then sealed. With the outer packaging closed, the supply of desiccant accommodated therein ensures that moisture from the environment does not enter and act on the cartridge during storage.
A disadvantage of the above described arrangement is the fact that, in the manufacturing process, the desiccant and also the test elements are unavoidably charged with water vapor. After the magazine has been prepared, that is to say, after the magazine has been loaded with a number of test elements, the test elements and the desiccant contained in the magazine have been already partially charged with moisture arising from the production process. This means that the supply of desiccant contained in the magazine has only a residual capacity for absorbing moisture. The desiccant supply contained in the magazine first dries the interior of the magazine, while the remaining residual absorption capacity ensures the stability of the test elements in the magazine.